Drawer for filing cabinets



1*- 1936- G. c. BRAINARD I DRAWER FOR FILING- CABiNETS Filed Aug. 1, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l Q znar CCBra Sept. 22, 1936. G. c. BRAINARD DRAWER FOR FILING CABINETS Filed Aug. 1, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m George CCBram rd,

DRAWER FOR FILING CABINETS Filed Aug. 1, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 75 I V gwuentoi I Geozzge (1B m inard,

duo away Patented Sept. 22, 1936 PATENT OFFICE DRAWER FOR FILING CABINETS George C. Brainard,.Youngs town, Ohio, assignor to The General Fireproofing Company, Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 1, 1935, Serial No. 34,270

8 Claims. (Cl. 129-26) This invention relates to drawers for filing cabinets and more particularly to a novel construction having special utility in drawers of the type having a tilting front or drawer head.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a spring tensioned front plate or presser leaf mounted within the drawer adjacentthe drawer head to prevent the drawer contents fall ing forward when the drawer head is tilted outwardly as the drawer is pulled open, but which may be readily moved or swung outwardly by manual finger pressure to release the drawer contents and permit ready removal thereof.

Another object is to provide safety means 00- operating with the pressure plate for preventing the drawer head from being'forced open when the filing space is full or crowded and the drawer is closed. That is to say, while the front plate or presser leaf is capable of movement independently of the drawer head when the latter is tilted forward, nevertheless, when the filing compartment becomes crowded the presser leaf cooperates with the drawer head holding means to prevent accidental opening of. the closed drawer head due to the expansive forceof the filed material.

In that connection, the safetymeans also has a-icompressive eifect'on the plate-to cause the sameto act as a compressor under these conditions.

{ i With the above and other objects in view which will more readilyappear asthe nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter'more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

"A preferred and practical embodiment of the inventionis shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which: p 7 l Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a drawer 54b embodying the present invention, a portion of. the drawer head-being shown in side elevation, and in closed position. Figure '2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the drawer head tilted to open position.

'45 Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 wherein the drawer head is closed but the compartment between the presser leaf and the space regulator is overcrowded with filing material.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the construction '56 shown-in Figure 2. 1

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 5- -5 of Figure 1.

:Figure 6 is a perspective view of the drawer head holding mechanism which constitutes ,a part 55 of the safety means.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding partsthroughout the several figures of the drawings.

According to the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the same includes in its 5 organization, a drawer designated generally as A and which includes the usual bottom and side walls and a back wall (not shown) and having at the front thereof a pivoted drawer head B adapted to tilt outwardlyfrom a vertical position on 10 a pivot B. Within the drawer A is provided a suitable space regulator or follower C intended to regulate the length of the filing compartment and which cooperates with a novel presser leaf D to maintain the filing material in neat and ori5 derly condition.

The presser leaf or front plate D is located between the drawer head B and the space regulator or follower C and preferably consists of a body of sheet material substantially coextensive with the width of the drawer. The lower end of the presser leaf or front plate D is mounted on a pivot I carried in suitable brackets 2 mounted at the front end of the drawer bottom adjacent the pivot B for the tilting front or drawer head. As will be apparent from Figures 4 and 5, the plate D is preferably forced in one direction by a series of coil springs 3. That is tosay, the plate is tensioned to move toward the space regulator C and for'the purpose of maintaining the same at an 3 inclination substantially corresponding to that of the space regulator, the upper corners of the plate are provided with the laterally offset ears or lugs 4 (Fig. 4) intended to rest on the upper edges of the side walls of the drawer. The lugs 3 or ears 4 may be provided with suitable cushioning means 5 of felt or rubber to deaden the sound of the plate engaging with the drawer when it is released to permit the springs 3 to exert their force. The presser leaf or front plate D is in 40 tended normally to occupy the position shown in Figure 1 when the compartment formed'between the plate and the space regulator contains only the proper amount of filing material. On the other hand, if the filing compartment is crowded with filing material as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3, the plate D may assume a more nearly upright position. When the plate is in the position shown in Figure 1, and the drawer head 3 is closed, that is, in its vertical position, the presser leaf functions merely to serve as a front abutment for keeping the filing material in position. Also, when the drawer is opened by being pulled out of the cabinet and the tilting front ,7 is moved forward on its pivot B, as shown in Figure 2,the plate D will still assume the position shown in full lines in Figure 2 to prevent the filing material from falling forward against the inside face'of the tilting front or drawer head. 5 However, when it is desired to remove papers filed behind the plate D, it is only necessary to subject the upper edge of the plate D to finger pressure as shown in Figure 2 and pull the same in the direction'of. the dotted arrow to open up the space between the plate and'the regulator C. Therefore, it will be apparent that the front plate or presser leaf D, under normal conditions, oper l ates independently of the tilting front ordrawer head B to maintain the filing material in proper regulator C, the presser plate performs the important function of preventingthe expansive force of the overcrowded filing material ircrn forcing the tilting front or drawer head open, as will presently appear more in detail.

4 Referringto the tilti n front or drawerhead B, it may be observed that" the same is provided with the. side Wings 6 which are tensioned by the siirm'gst in the manner set forth in Patent No. r 1,326,503, issuedsepte mber 12, 1933. The wings 'lr areiprovided with 'abutments l for engaging aist abutment 8 onthe drawer to limit the outmoveinent of the drawer head on its pivot 13"." As will also be observed from Figures 1 and 2 'th einsidejface of the side wall of the drawer is provided with arigid holding stud 9 adapted to cooperate with a holding arm lfl pivoted as at I I tothe inside face of the wing 6. At one end the arm ill is 'formed with a head !2 provided with a nose [3 and a shoulder Hi while the opposite end is provided with a laterally offset portion 15 adaptedito'oper'ate in 'a slot It in the wing. The said laterally offjset "portion is is provided with th I l and it which extend to opposite sides thereof; Normally, the spring finger l'i' engages. the inside face of the drawer head while other ldfis intended to be engaged by f d d'fi it '8? U11? Pl t D Wh nthe t qvqe f sj ho nie i u e e: object'of ithearm Ill and its associated pa t' ftos' r hthe s d 9. 1. t equiva s b releasably. holdjthe drawerhead iniits closed That islto say, theiparts arein t e posltion sh in Figure 1 the drawer head is 11615. .i i l i its sed Wa y h f r e ,offthe spring 'l bn t is also releasably held due .t thefigjagefmentof the shoulder M of'the arm Il 1th the stud 9, theg arrn I!) being pressed up 5.5 w r r the.ns smenw s ns fin e 1 w 11 he inside, face ofthe head B. When the dr head tilted ontwardlyas shown in Fig- -2'.l h" 1 finger ne ve. to Pre nt he .ann'lllffrom: falling downwardlylon its pivot H andl als'o holds the'liead l2 ofthe, arm position to :ri'deTag'ain'st the fiiied abutment '5! so that the stander M, may properly, move behind the stud ithe 'drawer headismoved to its fully. closed bs tin I f n the drawer head is closed as shown in Figure 3, and the presser leaf or plate D is forced toward the front of the drawer by the bull;v of the fil edf material, the offset portion'l8 of the plate will engage the spring finger l8 and move the "Tlifli iipwardl'y' with greater force to ensure engager hent of the" shoulder 14 with the stud 9 there y prevent theexpansiveforceof the filed; 'ihaterial ifr'orn accidentally forcing the d w "lien itis iritended to be closed. rs. idlfl has? serene condition. However, in the'event that the filing" material is crowded into the space ahead 'of the to turn the safety arm 10 in the same direction so that whether the tilting front is open or closed, the arm I0 will always be maintained in position either to engage the stud 9 or directly in engagement with it as the case may be, while at the same time when the drawer is crowded with filing material, the portion ifi will engage the spring finger i8 and cause the parts 9 and I lto engage with more force than provided by that of the finger I? alone. A

It will, of course, be understood that the arms It may be duplicated at opposite sides of the drawer as shown in Figure 5, or, in other words, each wing 6 of the drawer may be provided with holding means for assisting in maintaining the drawer head in its closed position.

'In use, the plate D serves to always keep the filing material in orderly fashion and also cooperates with the spring finger l8 of the safety arm or latch id to maintain the drawer head closed under abnormal conditions. a

Without fnrther descriptifi l it is thought that bottom adjacent the tilting head, and means .ior

holding the. drawer head, in closed, position, said means including a holding arm pivotallysup ported on the tilting head and cooperating, with an abutment fixed on aside wall of the drawer, a spring member carried by one end of said-arm for normally engaging the tilting drawer head to urge the other end upwardly, and another Spring mb s c ried by said. am. and adap e be ga ed r i ront. p a e. sthe latter. is forced toward aivertieal. positicn when the tilting drawer head is closed yielding lye to press the arm firmly against the abutment,

2. .In a filing drawer, having a bottom and eide ell tilting d wer head, a ro t. p et r re otally supported at its lower end on the drawer bottom adjacent the tilting head, means Q1}. the upper portion of the front plate forengagingthe upper edges of the drawersides, a spring for 9 inally f c n he plate i a irect n mm ntain Said. me n in n e em ntwithth drawer i es. and means for holding the tilting head incloeed Position, d an n .ud s. h l in ar pivotally, supported o v he, l n ..head;a id;c9- operating with an abutment fixed, on the drawer, a spring, m a d-bvv ne.6 1d 0 .5 f rma y n ng. the ti ti h ad h he e dward y .an 'an he -s ias member also carried by said arm. andadapted t9 beengaged by said front plate as the latter; is forced toward a vertical pqsition when the tilting d is ed to e dinsly orce the a m fir x against the abutment. e

3- ,In a filing d wer avi g. a bo om sea ide walls, a g. rawer Bea l r nt a p ro a lv suppo te at it nd .9 1 t e draw bottom adjacent the tilting' head, laterally,- ex; ndin em. 9 11 as en c n r f haf e plate for engaging the upper edges, ithe-drawer Sides i r n m unt dmax a y with. -t iv or thaimn p ate 2 rmal varpr atns plate in a direction to maintain said ea gagement with the drawer sides, and means for holding the tilting drawer head in closed position, said means including a holding arm pivotally supported on the tilting drawer head and cooperating with an abutment fixed on a side wall of the drawer, and a spring member carried by said arm and adapted to be engaged by said front plate as the latter is forced toward a vertical position when the tilting head is closed to yieldingly force the arm firmly against the abutment.

4. In a filing drawer having a bottom and side walls, the combination including, a tilting drawer head adapted to be opened by pulling the drawer forward and to be closed by pushing the drawer backward, a plate pivoted to the drawer independently of and adjacent the drawer head and adapted to be swung on its pivot manually or by the drawer contents, cooperating elements respectively on the drawer and drawer head to hold the drawer head in closed position and means carried by the element on the drawer head and in the path of outward movement of the plate as the latter is forced to a vertical position by the drawer contents to assist in holding the drawer head closed when the filing space of the drawer is crowded.

5. In a filing drawer, the combination including a tilting drawer head adapted to be opened by pulling the drawer forward and to be closed by pushing the drawer backward, a plate pivoted to l the drawer independently of and adjacent the drawer head and adapted to be swung on its pivot manually or by the drawer contents, and means carried by the drawer head to assist in holding the same closed, said means including an arm having a shoulder for releasably engaging an abutment on the drawer, a pivot for the arm, an offset portion on said arm at the side of the pivot opposite the shoulder, a leaf spring carried by the offset portion and having oppositely extending fingers, one of which engages the drawer head and the other of which is adapted to be engaged by said plate, each of said fingers when flexed by the drawer head or plate tending to move the shoulder on the arm toward the abutment.

6. In a filing drawer, a tilting drawer head, a front plate pivoted to the drawer adjacent the drawer head and movable independently of said drawer head, means for limiting the position of the upper edge of said plate inwardly of the filing space of the drawer, cooperating elements respectively on the drawer and drawn head for holding the latter closed, and means on the elements carried by the drawer head adapted to be engaged by the plate when the latter is moved to a more nearly upright position to force said elements in firmly holding engagement.

7. In a filing drawer, a tilting drawer head, coperating inter-engaging elements respectively on the drawer head and drawer for holding the drawer head in closed position, a movable member normally free of said elements carried bythe drawer and adapted to be actuated by the drawer contents; and means, carried by the element on the drawer head,.adapted to be pressed by said movable member to urge said inter-engaging elements in tighter gripping relation.

8. In a filing drawer, a tilting drawer head, a front plate pivoted to the drawer, spring means for urging the plate inwardly, means on the plate for engaging the drawer to determine the normal inward inclination of the plate, cooperating elements respectively on the drawer and the drawer head for holding said drawer head in closed position, and means on the tilting drawer head normally spaced from but adapted to be engaged by the front plate as the latter is forced from its normal inclined position toward a vertical position, thereby to urge saidcooperating elements in tighter locking relation to prevent the tilting head from being forced open by the drawer contents.

GEO. C. BRAINARD. 

